Sanctuary

Explicit content warning

01/09/24 • 33 min

Produced by Justin Agrelo | In 2010, a group of men incarcerated at Danville Correctional Center had a thought: how could they help stem community violence plaguing Chicago from the inside of a prison roughly three hours away? The men formed an academic study group they later named Community Anti-Violence Education (CAVE). They began examining the multiple layers of trauma and violence, both internally and externally hoping they could find a way to stem the damage done to their communities. What they didn’t realize at the time was that this study group would blossom into something much deeper.

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Say Her Name: Women Survivors of Chicago Police Torture

Michelle Clopton was in her twenties when Chicago police attempted to force her to confess to a crime she didn’t commit. For 72 hours, she was brutally questioned, deprived of food, and tortured. Today, she is one of the few women to publicly share her experience of abuse. But she’s not alone.

Under the leadership of CPD Commander Jon Burge, more than 100 Black people were tortured by Chicago police in the ’70s and ’80s to elicit false confessions.

A group of survivors have created the Chicago Torture Justice Center to begin rebuilding lives, healing, and finding joy. Michelle’s story reveals the unique impact of police abuse on women — and what it takes to survive and thrive.

Produced by Jewél Jackson @JewlJackson1 for Reparations Media | Editorial support from Juneteenth Productions @juneteenthprod2 | Collaboration with Chicago Torture Justice Center @chitorture | Sound design by Will Jarvis @willyfrederick | Music: Sara Abdelaal, Blue Dot Sessions
Follow us: changeagentsthepodcast.com | Donate: donate.stripe.com/4gw2980yG7Ez9bO3cf

Key words: Chicago, police, Chicago Police Department, CPD, John Burge, torture, corruption, brutality, survivor, false confession, prison, incarceration, jail, trauma, mental health, healing, solutions, Say Her Name, plea, accountability rule

Change Agents The Podcast - Sanctuary

Transcript

Angel Pantoja: [00:00:00] I remember I came to school high one day and um, I was in the cafeteria. It was like eight o'clock. I sort of put my head down. Security guard comes and wakes me up and he says, I need to shake you down. I need to search you. I said, for what? He said, because somebody just said that That you stole their chain.

I said, I stole their chain? I've been here the whole morning. He's like, I, I know, just let me just search your bag real quick. So he